Letter: Adopt a Tobacco Retail Licensing ordinance

Adopt a Tobacco Retail Licensing ordinance

It is time for the City of Vacaville to adopt a Tobacco Retail Licensing ordinance to require tobacco retailers to pay a fee that funds enforcement of the law prohibiting tobacco sales to minors (under age 21). A 2015 survey in Vacaville found that 90 percent of residents support this type of measure, which already applies to alcohol retailers, and which has been shown to be effective in reducing youth access to tobacco products.

More than 400 Solano County residents die every year of tobacco-related illnesses — that’s at least one totally preventable death of a family member, friend, or neighbor every single day of the calendar year! The tobacco industry invests in aggressive marketing of its products to youth to assure that new smokers — usually under the age of 18 — get hooked, because it needs to replace the addicted smokers who have died.

As a former smoker and the parent of a current smoker who began smoking as a teen, I am passionate about the evils of tobacco consumption. Preventing youth from starting to smoke is the best way to protect the health of our community and its future leaders — our youth.

I urge the City of Vacaville to join over 100 California communities — including the neighboring cities of Sacramento, Oakland, and Davis — that have adopted strong Tobacco Retail Licensing ordinances to protect their young citizens.